Smart pen and display device using the same

ABSTRACT

A smart pen includes a body, a pen tip portion at an end of the body, and including a pen tip extending in a first direction, a pen tip support configured to support the pen tip, and a reflector on one surface of the pen tip support, and having a curvature, and a light emitter supported by the body, configured to emit light, and inclined at an angle with respect to the first direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2022-0006953 filed on Jan. 18, 2022 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the contents of which in its entirety areherein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a smart pen, and to a display deviceusing the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the advance of information-oriented society, more and more demandsare placed on display devices for displaying images in various ways. Forexample, display devices are employed in various electronic devices,such as smartphones, digital cameras, laptop computers, navigationdevices, and smart televisions. The display device may be a flat paneldisplay device, such as a liquid crystal display device, a fieldemission display device and an organic light emitting display device.

A recent display device supports a touch input using a user's body part(e.g., a finger) and a touch input using an electronic pen. The touchinput using the electronic pen allows the display device to detect thetouch input more sensitively than the touch input using only a part of auser's body.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a smart pen and a displaydevice using the same capable of increasing a recognition rate of a codepattern unit (e.g., code pattern) and code information of a displaypanel by adjusting an inclination angle of a light-emitting unit (e.g.,a light emitter) and widening a light-receiving range of light that alight-receiving unit (e.g., a light receiver) receives according to aninclination angle of the smart pen.

However, aspects of the present disclosure are not restricted to the oneset forth herein. The above and other aspects of the present disclosurewill become more apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to whichthe present disclosure pertains by referencing the detailed descriptionof the present disclosure given below.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a smartpen includes a body, a pen tip portion at an end of the body, andincluding a pen tip extending in a first direction, a pen tip supportconfigured to support the pen tip, and a reflector on one surface of thepen tip support, and having a curvature, and a light emitter supportedby the body, configured to emit light, and inclined at an angle withrespect to the first direction.

A radius of curvature forming the curvature may be about 70 mm to about100 mm.

The angle may be within a range of about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees.

The pen tip support may define a receiving hole in which the pen tip isaccommodated.

The pen tip support may include a first pen tip support surrounding aportion of a side surface of the pen tip, and a second pen tip supportsurrounding a remaining portion of the side surface of the pen tip.

The receiving hole may be defined as a space between the first pen tipsupport and the second pen tip support.

The second pen tip support may include a first surface in contact withthe pen tip, and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and incontact with the reflector.

The second surface of the second pen tip support may have the curvature.

The body may include a first support, and a second support configured tosupport the light emitter, and fixed to the first support.

The second support may include a light emitter support portion having afirst support surface supporting a surface of the light emitter, and asecond support surface supporting another surface of the light emitter,a first fixing portion extending from a first end of the light emittersupport portion in the first direction, and overlapping the firstsupport in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction,and a second fixing portion extending in the first direction from asecond end of the light emitter support portion, and overlapping thesecond support in the second direction.

The smart pen may further include a light emitting circuit board betweenthe light emitter and the second support surface, and electricallyconnected to the light emitter.

The smart pen may further include a light receiver inside the firstsupport, and configured to receive light from the body.

The smart pen may further include a light-transmitting layer between thepen tip support and the first support, and configured to transmitinfrared light.

A distance between the light receiver and the light-transmitting layermay be greater than a distance between the light emitter and thelight-transmitting layer.

The light emitter may be configured to emit infrared light.

The reflector may contain an infrared reflective material.

The reflector may be formed in a shape having the curvature.

According to one or more other embodiments of the present disclosure, asmart pen includes a body including a first support, and a secondsupport connected to the first support, a light emitter supported by thesecond support, and configured to emit light, and a pen tip portionincluding a pen tip extending in a first direction, and a pen tipsupport configured to support the pen tip, wherein the second supportincludes a light emitter support portion having a first support surfacesupporting a first surface of the light emitter, and a second supportsurface supporting a second surface of the light emitter, a first fixingportion extending from a first end of the light emitter support portionin the first direction, and overlapping the first support in a seconddirection that is orthogonal to the first direction, and a second fixingportion extending in the first direction from a second end of the lightemitter support portion, and overlapping the second support in thesecond direction.

The second support surface may be inclined at an angle with respect tothe first direction.

The angle may be within a range of about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the present disclosure will become moreapparent by describing in detail embodiments thereof with reference tothe attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a configuration view illustrating a smart pen and a displaydevice according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram illustrating the smart pen andthe display device according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a smart pen according to one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a smart pen according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a pen tip portion of a smartpen according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a pen tip portion of a smart penaccording to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a pen tip portion of a smart penaccording to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a pen tip portion ofa smart pen according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view illustrating a smart pen according toone or more embodiments;

FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of asmart pen according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 11 is a front view illustrating a smart pen according to one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a front cross-sectional view illustrating a smart penaccording to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a light emitterillustrated in FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating a recognition degree according to anangle of the light emitter and an inclination angle of a smart pen;

FIGS. 15 to 17 are side cross-sectional views illustrating a structureof a reflector of a smart pen according to one or more otherembodiments;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of thedisplay device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 ;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the display device shownin FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating a display unit of a display deviceaccording to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 21 is a plan view illustrating a touch-sensing unit (e.g., a touchsensor) of a display device according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of area A1 shown in FIG. 21 ;

FIG. 23 is an enlarged view illustrating a portion of the area A1illustrated in FIG. 22 ;

FIG. 24 is a view illustrating an example of a code pattern unit (e.g.,code pattern) in a display device according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating data codes corresponding to the codepattern of FIG. 24 ;

FIG. 26 is a view illustrating another example of a code pattern in adisplay device according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating data codes corresponding to the codepattern of FIG. 26 ;

FIG. 28 is a view illustrating yet another example of a code pattern ina display device according to one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating data codes corresponding to the codepattern of FIG. 28 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of some embodiments of the present disclosure and methods ofaccomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference tothe detailed description of embodiments and the accompanying drawings.Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in more detail with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments, however, mayhave various modifications and may be embodied in various differentforms, and should not be construed as being limited to only theillustrated embodiments herein. Rather, these embodiments are providedas examples so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the aspects of the present disclosure to those skilledin the art, and it should be understood that the present disclosurecovers all the modifications, equivalents, and replacements within theidea and technical scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly,processes, elements, and techniques that are not necessary to thosehaving ordinary skill in the art for a complete understanding of theaspects of the present disclosure may not be described.

Unless otherwise noted, like reference numerals, characters, orcombinations thereof denote like elements throughout the attacheddrawings and the written description, and thus, descriptions thereofwill not be repeated. Further, parts that are not related to, or thatare irrelevant to, the description of the embodiments might not be shownto make the description clear.

In the drawings, the relative sizes of elements, layers, and regions maybe exaggerated for clarity. Additionally, the use of cross-hatchingand/or shading in the accompanying drawings is generally provided toclarify boundaries between adjacent elements. As such, neither thepresence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shading conveys orindicates any preference or requirement for particular materials,material properties, dimensions, proportions, commonalities betweenillustrated elements, and/or any other characteristic, attribute,property, etc., of the elements, unless specified.

Various embodiments are described herein with reference to sectionalillustrations that are schematic illustrations of embodiments and/orintermediate structures. As such, variations from the shapes of theillustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniquesand/or tolerances, are to be expected. Further, specific structural orfunctional descriptions disclosed herein are merely illustrative for thepurpose of describing embodiments according to the concept of thepresent disclosure. Thus, embodiments disclosed herein should not beconstrued as limited to the particular illustrated shapes of regions,but are to include deviations in shapes that result from, for instance,manufacturing.

Thus, the regions illustrated in the drawings are schematic in natureand their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of aregion of a device and are not intended to be limiting. Additionally, asthose skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may bemodified in various different ways, all without departing from thespirit or scope of the present disclosure.

In the detailed description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding ofvarious embodiments. It is apparent, however, that various embodimentsmay be practiced without these specific details or with one or moreequivalent arrangements. In other instances, well-known structures anddevices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring various embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “under,”“above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofexplanation to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will beunderstood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in use or in operation, in additionto the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the devicein the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or“beneath” or “under” other elements or features would then be oriented“above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example terms “below”and “under” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein shouldbe interpreted accordingly. Similarly, when a first part is described asbeing arranged “on” a second part, this indicates that the first part isarranged at an upper side or a lower side of the second part without thelimitation to the upper side thereof on the basis of the gravitydirection.

Further, in this specification, the phrase “on a plane,” or “plan view,”means viewing a target portion from the top, and the phrase “on across-section” means viewing a cross-section formed by verticallycutting a target portion from the side.

It will be understood that when an element, layer, region, or componentis referred to as being “formed on,” “on,” “connected to,” or “coupledto” another element, layer, region, or component, it can be directlyformed on, on, connected to, or coupled to the other element, layer,region, or component, or indirectly formed on, on, connected to, orcoupled to the other element, layer, region, or component such that oneor more intervening elements, layers, regions, or components may bepresent. In addition, this may collectively mean a direct or indirectcoupling or connection and an integral or non-integral coupling orconnection. For example, when a layer, region, or component is referredto as being “electrically connected” or “electrically coupled” toanother layer, region, or component, it can be directly electricallyconnected or coupled to the other layer, region, and/or component orintervening layers, regions, or components may be present. However,“directly connected/directly coupled,” or “directly on,” refers to onecomponent directly connecting or coupling another component, or being onanother component, without an intermediate component. Meanwhile, otherexpressions describing relationships between components such as“between,” “immediately between” or “adjacent to” and “directly adjacentto” may be construed similarly. In addition, it will also be understoodthat when an element or layer is referred to as being “between” twoelements or layers, it can be the only element or layer between the twoelements or layers, or one or more intervening elements or layers mayalso be present.

For the purposes of this disclosure, expressions such as “at least oneof,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list ofelements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. Forexample, “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”and “at least one selected from the group consisting of X, Y, and Z” maybe construed as X only, Y only, Z only, any combination of two or moreof X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance, XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ, or anyvariation thereof. Similarly, the expression such as “at least one of Aand B” may include A, B, or A and B. As used herein, “or” generallymeans “and/or,” and the term “and/or” includes any and all combinationsof one or more of the associated listed items. For example, theexpression such as “A and/or B” may include A, B, or A and B.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements,components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms.These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region,layer or section from another element, component, region, layer orsection. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or sectiondescribed below could be termed a second element, component, region,layer or section, without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure. The description of an element as a “first” elementmay not require or imply the presence of a second element or otherelements. The terms “first”, “second”, etc. may also be used herein todifferentiate different categories or sets of elements. For conciseness,the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may represent “first-category (orfirst-set)”, “second-category (or second-set)”, etc., respectively.

In the examples, the x-axis, the y-axis, and/or the z-axis are notlimited to three axes of a rectangular coordinate system, and may beinterpreted in a broader sense. For example, the x-axis, the y-axis, andthe z-axis may be perpendicular to one another, or may representdifferent directions that are not perpendicular to one another. The sameapplies for first, second, and/or third directions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the presentdisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a” and “an” are intendedto include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “have,” “having,” “includes,” and“including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofthe stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “substantially,” “about,” “approximately,” andsimilar terms are used as terms of approximation and not as terms ofdegree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations inmeasured or calculated values that would be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art. “About” or “approximately,” as used herein,is inclusive of the stated value and means within an acceptable range ofdeviation for the particular value as determined by one of ordinaryskill in the art, considering the measurement in question and the errorassociated with measurement of the particular quantity (i.e., thelimitations of the measurement system). For example, “about” may meanwithin one or more standard deviations, or within ±30%, 20%, 10%, 5% ofthe stated value. Further, the use of “may” when describing embodimentsof the present disclosure refers to “one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.”

Also, any numerical range disclosed and/or recited herein is intended toinclude all sub-ranges of the same numerical precision subsumed withinthe recited range. For example, a range of “1.0 to 10.0” is intended toinclude all subranges between (and including) the recited minimum valueof 1.0 and the recited maximum value of 10.0, that is, having a minimumvalue equal to or greater than 1.0 and a maximum value equal to or lessthan 10.0, such as, for example, 2.4 to 7.6. Any maximum numericallimitation recited herein is intended to include all lower numericallimitations subsumed therein, and any minimum numerical limitationrecited in this specification is intended to include all highernumerical limitations subsumed therein. Accordingly, Applicant reservesthe right to amend this specification, including the claims, toexpressly recite any sub-range subsumed within the ranges expresslyrecited herein. All such ranges are intended to be inherently describedin this specification such that amending to expressly recite any suchsubranges would comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) and35 U.S.C. § 132(a).

The electronic or electric devices and/or any other relevant devices orcomponents according to embodiments of the present disclosure describedherein may be implemented utilizing any suitable hardware, firmware(e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit), software, or acombination of software, firmware, and hardware, to process data ordigital signals. For example, the various components of these devicesmay be formed on one integrated circuit (IC) chip or on separate ICchips. Further, the various components of these devices may beimplemented on a flexible printed circuit film, a tape carrier package(TCP), a printed circuit board (PCB), or formed on one substrate.Circuit hardware may include, for example, application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), general purpose or special purpose centralprocessing units (CPUs) that is configured to execute instructionsstored in a non-transitory storage medium, digital signal processors(DSPs), graphics processing units (GPUs), and programmable logic devicessuch as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Further, the various components of these devices may be a process orthread, running on one or more processors, in one or more computingdevices, executing computer program instructions and interacting withother system components for performing the various functionalitiesdescribed herein. The computer program instructions are stored in amemory that may be implemented in a computing device using a standardmemory device, such as, for example, a random access memory (RAM). Thecomputer program instructions may also be stored in other non-transitorycomputer readable media such as, for example, a CD-ROM, flash drive, orthe like. Also, a person of skill in the art should recognize that thefunctionality of various computing devices may be combined or integratedinto a single computing device, or the functionality of a particularcomputing device may be distributed across one or more other computingdevices without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodimentsof the present disclosure.

Some embodiments are described in the accompanying drawings in relationto functional block, unit, and/or module. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that such block, unit, and/or module are/is physicallyimplemented by a logic circuit, an individual component, amicroprocessor, a hard wire circuit, a memory element, a lineconnection, and other electronic circuits. This may be formed using asemiconductor-based manufacturing technique or other manufacturingtechniques. The block, unit, and/or module implemented by amicroprocessor or other similar hardware may be programmed andcontrolled using software to perform various functions discussed herein,optionally may be driven by firmware and/or software. In addition, eachblock, unit, and/or module may be implemented by dedicated hardware, ora combination of dedicated hardware that performs some functions and aprocessor (for example, one or more programmed microprocessors andrelated circuits) that performs a function different from those of thededicated hardware. In addition, in some embodiments, the block, unit,and/or module may be physically separated into two or more interactindividual blocks, units, and/or modules without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. In addition, in some embodiments, theblock, unit and/or module may be physically combined into more complexblocks, units, and/or modules without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Itwill be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/orthe present specification, and should not be interpreted in an idealizedor overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a configuration view illustrating a smart pen and a displaydevice according to one or more embodiments. FIG. 2 is a configurationblock diagram illustrating the smart pen and the display deviceaccording to one or more embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a display device 10 according to one ormore embodiments includes a display panel 110, a display driver 120, atouch driver 140, a main processor 150, and a communication unit (e.g.,a communicator) 160.

The display device 10 uses a smart pen 2 as a touch input device. Thesmart pen 2 may be an electronic pen that senses display light of thedisplay panel 110 or that senses light reflected from the display panel110 using an optical method, and may detect code patterns included inthe display panel 110 and may generate coordinate data based on thesensed light.

The display panel 110 may include a display unit (e.g., a display) DUfor displaying an image, and a touch sensing unit (e.g., a touch sensor)TSU for sensing a body part, such as a finger and the smart pen 2. Thedisplay DU may include a plurality of pixels and may display an imagethrough the plurality of pixels. The display DU may also display animage including code patterns through a plurality of pixels.

The touch sensor TSU may include a plurality of touch electrodes tosense a user's touch in a capacitive manner. Here, at least some touchelectrodes among the plurality of touch electrodes may also include acode pattern unit (e.g., code pattern) CDP of FIG. 22 to sense the touchof the smart pen 2.

The code pattern CDP of FIG. 22 of the display panel 110 may includecode patterns that are cut according to a corresponding criterion toform a corresponding code for position information. The code patternsmay correspond to a value of a preset data code. Detailed configurationfeatures of the touch sensor TSU including the display panel 110, thecode pattern CDP of FIG. 22 , and detailed structures of the codepatterns will be described later in more detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

The display driver 120 may output signals and voltages for driving thedisplay DU. The display driver 120 may supply data voltages to datalines. The display driver 120 may supply a power voltage to the powerline, and may supply gate control signals to the gate driver.

The touch driver 140 may be connected to the touch sensor TSU. The touchdriver 140 may supply a touch-driving signal to a plurality of touchelectrodes of the touch sensor TSU, and may sense an amount of change incapacitance between the plurality of touch electrodes. The touch driver140 may calculate whether a user's touch is inputted and may calculatetouch coordinates based on an amount of change in capacitance betweenthe plurality of touch electrodes.

The main processor 150 may control all functions of the display device10. For example, the main processor 150 may supply digital video data tothe display driver 120 such that the display panel 110 displays animage. For example, the main processor 150 may receive touch data fromthe touch driver 140 to determine a user's touch coordinates, and thenmay generate digital video data according to the touch coordinates, ormay execute an application indicated by an icon displayed on the user'stouch coordinates. As another example, the main processor 150 mayreceive coordinate data from the smart pen 2 to determine touchcoordinates of the smart pen 2, and then may generate digital video dataaccording to the touch coordinates or may execute an applicationindicated by an icon displayed on the touch coordinates of the smart pen2.

The communicator 160 may perform wired/wireless communication with anexternal device. For example, the communicator 160 may transmit/receivea communication signal to/from a communication module (e.g.,communicator) 263 of the smart pen 2. The communicator 160 may receivecoordinate data composed of data codes from the smart pen 2, and mayprovide the coordinate data to the main processor 150.

The smart pen 2 according to one or more embodiments includes a bodyunit (e.g., a body) 20 and a pen tip portion 30 (e.g., see FIG. 3 ). Thesmart pen 2 may be formed in the shape of a writing instrument, such asa fountain pen, through the body 20 and the pen tip portion 30constituting the overall appearance, but the embodiments of thespecification are not limited thereto. That is, the smart pen 2 may notbe limited to a simple writing instrument shape or structure.

The body 20 of the smart pen 2 includes support portions 21 and 22(e.g., see FIG. 4 ), a light emitter 24, a light receiver 25, alight-transmitting layer 23 (e.g., see FIG. 11 ), and a controller 26(e.g., see FIG. 10 ).

The light emitter 24 may be located on the body 20 at a positionadjacent to the pen tip portion of the smart pen 2. The light emitter 24may emit light in one direction. For example, the light emitter 24 mayemit infrared light from one end of the body 20 in one direction of thepen tip portion 30 using at least one infrared light source. At leastone infrared light source module included in the light emitter 24 may beconfigured as an infrared LED array having a matrix structure.

The light receiver 25 is located on the body 20 at a position adjacentto the pen tip portion of the smart pen 2, and senses the image signalfor the code pattern CDP (e.g., see FIG. 22 ) included in the displaypanel 110 of the display device 10. For example, the light receiver 25may detect infrared light reflected from the code patterns of the codepattern CDP with an infrared camera.

The light receiver 25 may include a lens system 251, a barrel unit(e.g., a barrel) 252, and an image sensor 253 (e.g., see FIG. 10 ).

The lens system 251 may focus infrared rays and may transmit an infraredimage to the barrel 252. The barrel 252 may provide a space fortransmitting the focused infrared image from the lens system 251 to theimage sensor 253. In addition, the infrared image may be focused so thatthe image sensor 253 may recognize it. The optical image sensor 253 mayconvert the optical image formed by the lens system 251 into anelectrical image signal and may output the signal.

The image sensor 253 may be configured in a matrix-structured array,like the infrared LED array, and may provide image data of the codepatterns to a code processor 262 according to the infrared shapereflected from the code patterns of the code pattern. In this way, thelight receiver 25 of the smart pen 2 may continuously detect the codepatterns included in at least some areas of the touch sensor TSUaccording to the user's control and movement, and may continuouslygenerate the shape data of the code patterns to provide the shape dateto the code processor 262.

The light-transmitting layer 23 may be located on one side of the lightreceiver 25 and the light emitter 24. The light-transmitting layer 23may block wavelength bands other than infrared rays and may allowinfrared rays to pass therethrough. A detailed description of thelight-transmitting layer 23, the light receiver 25, and the lightemitter 24 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 .

The controller 26 includes the code processor 262, the communicator 263,and a memory 264.

The code processor 262 may determine a time at which thepressure-sensing signal is inputted as the time at which the smart pen 2is used. When a pressure-sensing signal is inputted, the code processor262 may continuously receive image data of the code pattern from thelight receiver 25. For example, the code processor 262 may continuouslyreceive image data for the code patterns included in the code pattern,and may identify the structure and shape of the code patterns. The codeprocessor 262 may extract or generate data codes corresponding to thestructures and shapes of the code patterns, and may extract or generatecoordinate data corresponding to the combined data codes by combiningthe data codes. The code processor 262 may transmit the generatedcoordinate data to the display device 10 through the communicator 263.For example, the code processor 262 may receive the image data of thecode pattern and may generate and convert data codes respectivelycorresponding to the code patterns, so that coordinate data may besuitably generated without complicated computation and correction.

The communicator 263 may perform wired or wireless communication with anexternal device. For example, the communicator 263 may transmit/receivea communication signal to/from the communicator 160 of the displaydevice 10. The communicator 263 may receive coordinate data composed ofdata codes from the code processor 262, and may provide the coordinatedata to the communicator 160.

The memory 264 may store data suitable for driving the smart pen 2. Thememory 264 stores image data of the code patterns, and the code patternsrespectively corresponding to each of the image data and the data codes.In addition, the memory 264 stores data codes and coordinate dataaccording to a combination of data codes. The memory 264 shares the datacodes respectively corresponding to each of the image data and the codepatterns, and the coordinate data according to a combination of the datacodes with the code processor 262. Accordingly, the code processor 262may combine the data codes using the data codes and the coordinate datastored in the memory 264, and may extract or generate coordinate datacorresponding to the combined data code.

Hereinafter, the overall appearance of the smart pen 2 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 .

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a smart pen according to one or moreembodiments. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a smart penaccording to one or more embodiments. FIG. 5 is a perspective viewillustrating a pen tip portion of a smart pen according to one or moreembodiments. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a pen tip portion of asmart pen according to one or more embodiments. FIG. 7 is a side viewillustrating a pen tip portion of a smart pen according to one or moreembodiments. FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a pentip portion of a smart pen according to one or more embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 8 , the appearance of the smart pen 2 may beformed of the support portions 21 and 22 of the body 20 and the pen tipportion 30.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first support 21 of the body 20 mayform an outer side surface of the smart pen 2 in a cylindrical shape.For example, the first support 21 may be formed in a long rod shape inone direction to be accompanied by a handle function, so that theoverall shape of the writing instrument may be achieved.

The controller 26, the light emitter 24, the light receiver 25, acircuit board 266 (e.g., see FIG. 12 ), a fixing portion 265 (e.g., seeFIG. 12 ), and the light-transmitting layer 23 may be located on thefirst support 21. For example, inside the first support 21, thecontroller 26, the light emitter 24, the light receiver 25, the circuitboard 266, the fixing portion 265, and the light-transmitting layer 23may be connected to and fixed to the first support 21.

The second support 22 of the body 20 may be connected to and fixed tothe first support 21. The light emitter 24 may be located on and fixedto the second support 22. A detailed description thereof will be givenlater with reference to FIG. 13 .

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 8 , the pen tip portion 30 may be located at oneend of the body 20. For example, the pen tip portion 30 may be locatedin a first direction DR1 from one end of the first support 21 of thebody 20.

The pen tip portion 30 allows light to be emitted from the light emitter24 toward the display panel 110, and allows for a light receiving path(or a traveling path of the reflected light) of the reflected lightreflected from the display panel 110. For example, in the pen tipportion 30, the light displayed on the display panel 110 and the lightreflected from the display panel 110 may be re-reflected by thereflector 32 of the pen tip portion 30 and may be received at the lightreceiver 25. Accordingly, the pen tip portion 30 may have a shape thatimproves the light-receiving range of the light receiver 25. Thelight-receiving range will be described later with reference to FIG. 14.

The pen tip portion 30 includes a pen tip support 31, a pen tip 33(e.g., see FIG. 9 ), and the reflector 32.

The pen tip 33 may be a structure for contacting the display panel 110.The pen tip 33 may be supported by the first support 21 and the pen tipsupport 31. The pen tip 33 may extend in one direction. The pen tip 33may penetrate the pen tip support 31 in the first direction DR1, and maybe in contact with one end of the first support 21 of the body 20.

The pen tip support 31 includes a first pen tip support 311 and a secondpen tip support 312.

The first pen tip support 311 may form the overall appearance of the pentip portion 30. For example, as illustrated in the drawing, the firstpen tip support 311 may have a shape similar to a shape of one side of awriting instrument, such as a pen.

The first pen tip support 311 may extend in the first direction DR1 fromone end of the body 20. The first pen tip support 311 may be formed atone end of the first support 21 in the first direction DR1.

The second pen tip support 312 may be formed on the inner side surfaceof the first pen tip support 311. The second pen tip support 312 mayextend in the first direction DR1 from one end of the body 20. Thesecond pen tip support 312 may serve to support the pen tip 33 togetherwith the first pen tip support 311.

The pen tip support 31 may support the pen tip 33. For example, thefirst pen tip support 311 may surround a portion of the side surface ofthe pen tip 33, and the second pen tip support 312 may surround the restof the side surface of the pen tip 33.

The pen tip support 31 may include, or define, a receiving hole TH1 inwhich the pen tip 33 is accommodated. The receiving hole TH1 may have ashape extending in the first direction of the pen tip support 31. Thereceiving hole TH1 may be defined as a space between the first pen tipsupport 311 and the second pen tip support 312, and may be surrounded bythe first pen tip support 311 and the second pen tip support 312.Accordingly, the pen tip 33 may be supported by the receiving hole TH1formed of the first pen tip support 311 and the second pen tip support312.

The shape of the receiving hole TH1 may have various shapes depending onthe shape of the pen tip 33. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , thereceiving hole TH1 may have a cylindrical shape elongated in the firstdirection DR1. In addition, when the shape of the pen tip 33 is atriangular shape or a polygonal shape, the receiving hole TH1 may alsobe formed in the same shape as the shape of the pen tip 33.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the second pen tip support 312 includes a firstsurface S1 in one direction and a second surface S2 in the otherdirection. For example, the second pen tip support 312 may include afirst surface S1 in contact with the pen tip 33, and a second surface S2that is in contact with the reflector 32 and that is an opposite surfaceof the first surface S1. In this case, the first surface S1 may be asurface that is opposite to the first pen tip support 311 in the seconddirection DR2.

The second surface S2 of the second pen tip support 312 may have acurvature (e.g., predetermined curvature). For example, the secondsurface S2 may have a convex shape toward a direction that is oppositeto the second direction DR2 (e.g., a direction toward the pen tip 33).For example, the second surface S2 may be formed as a portion of acircular shape having a curvature (e.g., predetermined curvature). Aradius of curvature of the second surface S2 may be about 70 mm to about100 mm.

The reflector 32 may be located on the second surface S2 of the secondpen tip support 312.

An edge of the second surface S2 in the first direction DR1 may bealigned with an edge of the reflector 32 in the first direction DR1. Thesecond surface S2 and the reflector 32 may completely overlap eachother.

In addition, the second surface S2 of the second pen tip support 312 maycover the reflector 32 in the first direction DR1. For example, thereflector 32 may generally extend in the first direction DR1 between oneside and the other side of the second surface S2. In the first directionDR1, the reflector 32 may have a size corresponding to the secondsurface S2. The reflector 32 may have a size covering the second surfaceS2 in the first direction DR1.

The width of the reflector 32 may be smaller than the width of thesecond pen tip support 312. The width of the reflector 32 may correspondto the length of the reflector 32 in the third direction DR3, and thewidth of the second pen tip support 312 may correspond to the length ofthe reflector 32 in the third direction DR3. For example, the reflector32 may be smaller than a size corresponding to the second surface S2 inthe third direction DR3. The reflector 32 may cover a portion of thesecond surface S2 in the third direction DR3. That is, the outer sidesurface of the reflector 32 may be positioned on the inner side than theside surface of the second surface S2. Alternatively, the reflector 32may be spaced apart from the edge of the other side of the second pentip support 312 toward the edge of the one side of the second pen tipsupport 312. Alternatively, the reflector 32 may also be spaced apartfrom the edge of the one side toward the edge of the other side of thesecond pen tip support 312.

A thickness D1 of the reflector 32 may have, for example, about ⅛ toabout ½ of a maximum thickness D2 of the second pen tip support 312.Alternatively, the reflector 32 may have the thickness D1 in the rangeof about 1 mm to about 5 mm.

The reflector 32 may have a convex shape toward the pen tip 33. Thereflector 32 may be formed as a portion of a circular shape having thesame curvature (e.g., predetermined curvature) as the second surface S2.For example, the radius of curvature of the reflector 32 may be about 70mm to about 100 mm. When the radius of curvature of the reflector 32 issmaller than about 70 mm, the light emitted from the light emitter 24may not be widely spread, and thus a light-receiving range may bereduced. In addition, when the radius of curvature of the reflector 32is greater than about 100 mm and a second angle θ2 formed with thedisplay panel 110 of the smart pen 2 is greater than or equal to anangle (e.g., predetermined angle, for example, about 80 degrees), it maybe difficult to secure a sufficient amount of light to be sensed, sothat the light-receiving range may be lowered. Accordingly, thelight-receiving range of the smart pen 2 may be improved by the radiusof curvature (e.g., predetermined radius of curvature) of the reflector32.

The reflector 32 may be formed of an infrared reflective material, suchas barium sulfate or magnesium oxide, or may be formed of an infraredreflective material coated thereon, but is not limited thereto.

A light-transmitting hole TH2 that forms a path of light between thereflector 32 and the first pen tip support 311 may be included. Thelight-transmitting hole TH2 may have a hole shape extending in the firstdirection DR1 of the pen tip support 31. The light-transmitting hole TH2is formed in the form of a through-hole in the inner center of the pentip portion 30.

The shape of the light-transmitting hole TH2 may have various shapes.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , the light-transmitting hole TH2may have a hole of a shape similar to a cylindrical form elongated inthe first direction DR1.

The light-transmitting hole TH2 may be defined as a space between thefirst pen tip support 311 and the reflector 32 on the second pen tipsupport 312, and may be surrounded by the first pen tip support 311 andthe reflector 32. A light path may be formed in a space in the shape ofa through-hole of the light-transmitting hole TH2. For example, lightemitted from the light emitter 24 may pass through the space of thelight-transmitting hole TH2 and may be reflected by the reflector 32 totravel to the display panel 100, or may directly travel to the displaypanel 100 without passing through the reflector 32, and in addition,light from the display panel 110 or reflected light may pass through thelight-transmitting hole TH2, and may be received by the light receiver25.

Hereinafter, a corresponding shape and a light path of the light emitter24 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12 .

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view illustrating a smart pen according toone or more embodiments. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional viewillustrating a structure of a smart pen according to one or moreembodiments. FIG. 11 is a front view illustrating a smart pen accordingto one or more embodiments. FIG. 12 is a front cross-sectional viewillustrating a smart pen according to one or more embodiments. FIG. 13is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a light emitter illustrated inFIG. 10 . FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating a recognition degree accordingto an angle of the light emitter and an inclination angle of a smartpen.

Referring to FIGS. 9 to 12 , the body 20 of the smart pen 2 includes afixing portion 265, the circuit board 266, the light emitter 24, thelight receiver 25, the light-transmitting layer 23, and a light emittingcircuit board 27.

The fixing portion 265 is located inside the body 20. The fixing portion265 may be located inside the first support 21. The fixing portion 265may extend in the first direction DR1. In addition, the fixing portion265 may be located up to one end of the body 20 in the first directionDR1 to be in contact with the pen tip portion 30. Accordingly, one endof the fixing portion 265 may be aligned with one end of the firstsupport 21.

The fixing portion 265 serves to support the pen tip 33 together withthe first support 21. A hole defined as a space between the fixingportion 265 and the first support 21 may extend in the first directionDR1. A hole defined as a space between the fixing portion 265 and thefirst support 21 may overlap the receiving hole TH1 of the pen tipportion 30 in the first direction DR1. Accordingly, the pen tip 33 maybe located in the hole and in the receiving hole TH1 defined by thefixing portion 265 and the first support 21.

The circuit board 266 may be located on the fixing portion 265. Thecircuit board 266 may extend in the first direction DR1. The circuitboard 266 may be electrically connected to the light receiver 25 and thecontroller 26. The circuit board 266 may transmit image data received bythe light receiver 25 to the controller 26. The controller 26 may bemounted on one surface of the circuit board 266. The circuit board 266may be a printed circuit board. The controller 26 may be an integratedcircuit.

The light-transmitting layer 23 may be located between the fixingportion 265 and the first support 21 in the second direction DR2. Onesurface of the light-transmitting layer 23 may be aligned with an edgeof the fixing portion 265. The light-transmitting layer 23 may extendinside the first support 21 in the second direction DR2. The edge of thelight-transmitting layer 23 may be in contact with the circuit board266. Accordingly, the light-transmitting hole TH2 of the pen tip portion30 may be covered.

The light-transmitting layer 23 may selectively transmit infrared light.The light-transmitting layer 23 may serve as a band-pass filter thattransmits light having an infrared wavelength and that blocks lighthaving other wavelengths. For example, the light-transmitting layer 23may transmit light having a wavelength of about 700 nm or more.

The light receiver 25 may extend in the first direction DR1 of thecircuit board 266. For example, the light receiver 25 may be locatedinside the first support 21. The light receiver 25 may be locatedbetween the first support 21 and the circuit board 266 in the seconddirection DR2.

The light receiver 25 may be spaced apart from the light-transmittinglayer 23 in the first direction DR1. That is, because the light receiver25 is spaced apart from the light-transmitting layer 23 in the firstdirection DR1, the light receiver 25 may be spaced apart from the pentip portion 30 in the first direction DR1. For example, the lightreceiver 25 may be spaced apart from the light-transmitting layer 23 bya third distance D3 in the first direction DR1.

The light receiver 25 is embedded in the first support 21 of the body20, and receives infrared light that is reflected from the display panel110 and the reflector 32 of the pen tip portion 30 and that is incidentthereon through the light-transmitting hole TH2. Accordingly, the lightreceiver 25 may detect image data for the code patterns through thereceived infrared light.

In one or more embodiments, the light receiver 25 may further include alight-receiving support portion. The light-receiving support portion maysurround the outside of the light receiver 25, and may be supported bythe body 20. The light receiver 25 may be supported by thelight-receiving support portion.

Referring to FIGS. 10 to 13 , the light emitter 24 may be locatedadjacent to the second support 22 in a space between thelight-transmitting layer 23 and the light receiver 25. For example, inplan view defined by the first direction DR1 and the second directionDR2, the light emitter 24 may be mounted on the top surface of thesecond support 22 of the body 20, and may be located inside the body 20.

In addition, the light emitter 24 may be spaced apart from each of thelight-transmitting layer 23 and the light receiver 25. For example, whenthe light emitter 24 is located in the space between the light receiver25 and the light-transmitting layer 23, as illustrated in FIG. 10 , thelight emitter 24 may be spaced apart from each of the light-transmittinglayer 23 and the light receiver 25 by a distance (e.g., predetermineddistance) along the first direction DR1.

The distance (e.g., predetermined distance) may be defined as a fourthdistance D4 that is a distance between a center CC of the light emitter24 in the first direction DR1 and one end of the light-transmittinglayer 23 in the first direction DR1. In addition, it may be defined as afifth distance D5 that is a distance between the center CC of the lightemitter 24 in the first direction DR1 and one end of the light receiver25 in the first direction DR1. That is, the center CC of the lightemitter 24 may be spaced apart from one end of the light-transmittinglayer 23 by the fourth distance D4, and the center CC of the lightemitter 24 may be spaced apart from one end of the light receiver 25 bythe fifth distance D5.

Accordingly, the third distance D3 between the light receiver 25 and thelight-transmitting layer 23 may be greater than the fourth distance D4between the light emitter 24 and the light-transmitting layer 23. Thethird distance D3 between the light receiver 25 and thelight-transmitting layer 23 may be greater than the fourth distance D4between the light emitter 24 and the light-transmitting layer 23 by thefifth distance D5.

The light emitter 24 emits infrared light toward the light-transmittinglayer 23. Infrared light incident toward the light-transmitting layer 23may travel to the display panel 100 through the light-transmitting holeTH2 of the first pen tip support 311, or may travel to the reflector 32.

The light emitter 24 may be located on, and fixed to, the second support22. The second support 22 may support the light emitter 24, and thesecond support 22 may be connected to, and fixed to, the first support21. For example, the second support 22 includes a first fixing portion221, a second fixing portion 222, and a light emitter support portion223.

The first fixing portion 221 may extend from one end of the lightemitter support portion 223 in the first direction DR1, and may overlapthe first support 21 in the second direction DR2.

The second fixing portion 222 may extend from the other end of the lightemitter support portion 223 in the first direction DR1, and may overlapthe first support 21 in the second direction DR2.

The light emitter support portion 223 includes a second support surfaceT2 that supports a rear surface of the light emitting surface of thelight emitter 24, and includes a first support surface T1 that supportsa side surface of the controller 26. Accordingly, the light emitter 24may be located on, or above, the first support surface T1 and the secondsupport surface T2 of the light emitter support portion 223, and mayemit light along the front surface direction of the second supportsurface T2. The first support surface T1 and the second support surfaceT2 may be orthogonal to each other.

The first support surface T1 of the light emitter support portion 223has an angle (e.g., predetermined angle) with respect to an imaginaryaxis BX extending in the first direction DR1. The imaginary axis BX maybe an axis extending along the first direction DR1, but the embodimentsof the specification are not limited thereto.

That is, an angle formed by the side surface of the first supportsurface T1 with respect to the imaginary axis BX may be defined as afirst angle θ1. For example, the first angle θ1 may have a range ofabout 15 degrees to about 20 degrees. That is, because the light emitter24 is located on the light emitter support portion 223 inclined at thefirst angle θ1 with respect to the imaginary axis BX, the light emitter24 may also be inclined at the first angle θ1 with respect to theimaginary axis BX.

The light emitter 24 may be inclined at the first angle θ1 to emitlight, and the light may be reflected by the reflector 32 to travel tothe display panel 100. For example, the light emitter 24 may emit adirect light L1 that travels directly to the display panel 110, and mayemit an indirect light L2 that is reflected by the reflector 32 andtravels therefrom.

Accordingly, the light receiver 25 may sense the light reflected fromthe display panel 100. For example, the light receiver 25 may sense adirectly received light L3 in which the indirect light L2 is directlyreceived by the light receiver 25, and an indirectly received light L4in which the direct light L1 is reflected by the reflector 32 to bereceived. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, andthe light receiver 25 may sense light in which the direct light L1 isdirectly received and light in which the indirect light L2 is reflectedby the reflector 32 to be received. In addition, light emitted from thedisplay panel 110 may also be sensed as well as light from the lightemitter 24.

In FIG. 14 , the angle at which the light emitter 24 is inclined withrespect to the imaginary axis X is illustrated on the X-axis, and theangle at which the smart pen 2 is inclined with respect to the displaypanel 100 is illustrated on the Y-axis.

Referring further to FIG. 14 , when the code pattern CDP of FIG. 22 isdetected by inclining the smart pen 2 at a second angle θ2 with respectto the imaginary axis BX extending along the first direction DR1, anappropriate amount of light is required. In this case, light-receivingranges a1 to a6 may vary according to the first angle θ1 of the lightemitter 24 and according to the second angle θ2 that is an inclinedangle of the smart pen 2. That is, the light-receiving range refers to arange of the second angle θ2 at which the light receiver 25 may receivelight equal to or greater than the sensible amount of light at thepreset first angle θ1.

For example, when the first angle θ1 is about 0 degrees, the lightreceiver 25 may receive light within a range in which the second angleθ2 is inclined by about 65 degrees to about 80 degrees. That is, whenthe first angle θ1 is about 0 degrees, the light receiver 25 may sensethe code pattern CDP in FIG. 22 in the light-receiving range a1 in whichthe second angle θ2 is about 65 degrees to about 80 degrees.

When the first angle θ1 is about 5 degrees, the light receiver 25 mayreceive light within a range in which the second angle θ2 is inclined byabout 60 degrees to about 80 degrees. That is, when the first angle θ1is about 5 degrees, the light receiver 25 may sense the code pattern CDPin FIG. 22 in the light-receiving range a2 in which the second angle θ2is about 60 degrees to about 80 degrees.

When the first angle θ1 is about 10 degrees, the light receiver 25 mayreceive light within a range in which the second angle θ2 is inclined byabout 60 degrees to about 85 degrees. That is, when the first angle θ1is about 10 degrees, the light receiver 25 may sense the code patternCDP in FIG. 22 in the light-receiving range a3 in which the second angleθ2 is about 60 degrees to about 85 degrees.

When the first angle θ1 is about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees, thelight receiver 25 may receive light within a range in which the secondangle θ2 is inclined by about 50 degrees to about 85 degrees. That is,when the first angle θ1 is about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees, thelight receiver 25 may sense the code pattern CDP in FIG. 22 in thelight-receiving ranges a4 and a5 in which the second angle θ2 is about50 degrees to about 85 degrees.

When the first angle θ1 is about 25 degrees, the light receiver 25 mayreceive light within a range in which the second angle θ2 is inclined byabout 55 degrees to about 80 degrees. That is, when the first angle θ1is about 25 degrees, the light receiver 25 may sense the code patternCDP in FIG. 22 in the light-receiving range a6 in which the second angleθ2 is about 55 degrees to about 80 degrees.

In a range in which the first angle θ1 is about 15 degrees, about 20degrees, and about 25 degrees, the light receiver 25 may receive lighteven when the second angle θ2 is approximately 50 degrees. Accordingly,although the user uses the smart pen 2 at an angle, the light receiver25 may receive light.

However, because the user frequently uses the smart pen 2 at an angle ofabout 80 degrees or more, it may be suitable to include a case where thelight-receiving range is about 80 degrees or more. In addition, becausethe user does not frequently use the smart pen 2 at an angle of about 45degrees or less, it may be irrelevant even if a case where thelight-receiving range is about 45 degrees or less is excluded.Accordingly, it may be suitable that the second angle θ2 is about 50degrees to about 85 degrees rather than about 45 degrees to about 80degrees.

That is, when the first angle θ1 is about 15 degrees to about 20degrees, the light-receiving range includes an angle range in which theuser inclines the smart pen 2 more frequently than when the first angleθ1 is about 25 degrees. Accordingly, the inclined first angle θ1 of thelight emitter 24 is, for example, about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees.Accordingly, when the light emitter 24 is inclined at an angle of about15 degrees to about 20 degrees, it is possible to widen thelight-receiving range of the light receiver 25 as much as possibleaccording to the inclined angle of the smart pen 2.

Referring back to FIG. 10 , the light emitting circuit board 27 may belocated between the first support surface T1 of the second support 22and the light emitter 24. The light emitting circuit board 27 may beelectrically connected to the light emitter 24. The light emittingcircuit board 27 may be attached on the circuit board 266 of the smartpen 2 using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). The light emittingcircuit board 27 may be a flexible printed circuit board, a printedcircuit board, or a flexible film, such as a chip on film.

The light emitted from the light emitter 24 may be emitted toward oneend of the pen tip portion 30 through the light-transmitting hole TH2 ofthe pen tip portion 30 to be reflected by the display panel 110. Thelight emitted through the light-transmitting hole TH2 may directlytravel to the display panel 110, or may be reflected by the reflector 32to indirectly travel to the display panel 110.

When the smart pen 2 is inclined at the second angle θ2 to emit light tothe display panel 110 or to receive light displayed on the display panel110, light may be diffusely reflected and lost on the surface of thedisplay panel 110 due to a direction difference between an incidentangle and a reflection angle with respect to the display panel 110.However, because the reflector 32 covers one side direction of thedisplay panel 110 and because the light emitter 24 is inclined at thefirst angle 81, light reception efficiency may be improved.

FIGS. 15 to 17 are side cross-sectional views illustrating a structureof a reflector of a smart pen according to one or more otherembodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 15 to 17 , the curvature of the reflector 32 locatedon the second surface S2 of the second pen tip support 312 may bedeformed to be formed. In addition, the curvature of the second pen tipsupport 312 corresponding to the curvature of the reflector 32 may alsobe different in different embodiments.

For example, in FIGS. 8 to 13 , the reflector 32 may have a firstcurvature R1, and the second pen tip support 312 may also correspond tothe curvature of the reflector 32 to have the first curvature R1. InFIGS. 15 to 17 , unlike in FIGS. 8 to 13 , the reflector 32 may have asecond curvature R2 to a fourth curvature R4 in respective embodiments.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 15 , the reflector 32 may have thesecond curvature R2 that is greater than the first curvature R1. Thesecond curvature R2 may have a radius of curvature of about 80 mm. Inaddition, the second pen tip support 312 may also have a radius ofcurvature of about 80 mm. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIGS. 16 and17 , the reflector 32 may have the third curvature R3 and the fourthcurvature R4, which are greater than the second curvature R2,respectively. The third curvature R3 and the fourth curvature R4 of thereflector 32 may have a radius of curvature of about 90 mm and about 100mm, respectively, and the second pen tip support 312 may also correspondto the curvature of the reflector 32 to have a radius of curvature ofabout 90 mm and about 100 mm, respectively.

Also, the second to fourth curvatures R2 to R4 of the reflector 32 mayreflect the light emitted from the light emitter 24 inclined at thefirst angle 81, and the reflected light may be reflected again by thereflector 32. Accordingly, the reflector 32 may improve the emissionefficiency and light reception efficiency of the smart pen 2.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of thedisplay device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Referring to FIG. 18 , a display device 10 may be applied to portableelectronic devices, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tabletpersonal computer, a mobile communication terminal, an electronicorganizer, an electronic book, a portable multimedia player (PMP), anavigation system, an ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) or the like. For example,the display device 10 may be applied as a display of a television, alaptop, a monitor, a billboard, or an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device.For another example, the display device 10 may be applied to wearabledevices, such as a smart watch, a watch phone, a glasses type display,or a head mounted display (HMD). As yet another example, the displaydevice 10 may be applied to a dashboard of a vehicle, a center fascia ofa vehicle, a center information display (CID) located on a dashboard ofa vehicle, a room mirror display in place of side mirrors of a vehicle,or a display located on a rear surface of a front seat for rear seatentertainment of a vehicle.

The display device 10 may have a planar shape similar to a quadrilateralshape. For example, the display device 10 may have a shape similar to aquadrilateral shape, in plan view, having short sides in an X-axisdirection and long sides in a Y-axis direction. The corner where theshort side in the X-axis direction and the long side in the Y-axisdirection meet may be rounded to have a curvature (e.g., predeterminedcurvature) or may be right-angled. The planar shape of the displaydevice 10 is not limited to a quadrilateral shape, and may be formed ina shape similar to another polygonal shape, a circular shape, orelliptical shape.

The display device 10 may include the display panel 110, the displaydriver 120, the circuit board 130, and the touch driver 140.

The display panel 110 may include a main region MA and a sub-region SBA.

The main region MA may include the display area DA including pixels fordisplaying an image and the non-display area NDA located around thedisplay area DA. The display area DA may emit light from a plurality ofemission areas or a plurality of opening areas. For example, the displaypanel 110 may include a pixel circuit including switching elements, apixel-defining layer defining an emission area or an opening area, and aself-light-emitting element.

The non-display area NDA may be an area outside the display area DA. Thenon-display area NDA may be defined as an edge area of the main regionMA of the display panel 110. In one or more embodiments, the non-displayarea NDA may include a gate driver that supplies gate signals to thegate lines, and fan-out lines that connect the display driver 120 to thedisplay area DA.

The sub-region SBA may extend from one side of the main region MA. Thesub-region SBA may include a flexible material that can be bent, folded,or rolled. For example, when the sub-region SBA is bent, the sub-regionSBA may overlap the main region MA in a thickness direction (Z-axisdirection). The sub-region SBA may include the display driver 120 and apad unit (e.g., a pad) connected to the circuit board 130. Optionally,the sub-region SBA may be omitted, and the display driver 120 and thepad may be arranged in the non-display area NDA.

The display driver 120 may output signals and voltages for driving thedisplay panel 110. The display driver 120 may supply data voltages todata lines. The display driver 120 may supply a power voltage to thepower line, and may supply gate control signals to the gate driver. Thedisplay driver 120 may be formed as an integrated circuit (IC), and maybe mounted on the display panel 110 by a chip on glass (COG) method, achip on plastic (COP) method, or an ultrasonic bonding method. Forexample, the display driver 120 may be located in the sub-region SBA,and may overlap the main region MA in the thickness direction (Z-axisdirection) by bending of the sub-region SBA. For another example, thedisplay driver 120 may be mounted on the circuit board 130.

The circuit board 130 may be attached to the pad of the display panel110 by using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). Lead lines of thecircuit board 130 may be electrically connected to the pad of thedisplay panel 110. The circuit board 130 may be a flexible printedcircuit board, a printed circuit board, or a flexible film, such as achip on film.

The touch driver 140 may be mounted on the circuit board 130. The touchdriver 140 may be connected to the touch sensor of the display panel110. The touch driver 140 may supply a touch-driving signal to aplurality of touch electrodes of the touch sensor and may sense anamount of change in capacitance between the plurality of touchelectrodes. For example, the touch-driving signal may be a pulse signalhaving a frequency (e.g., predetermined frequency). The touch driver 140may calculate whether a touch is inputted and touch coordinates based onan amount of change in capacitance between the plurality of touchelectrodes. The touch driver 140 may be formed of an integrated circuit(IC).

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the display device shownin FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 19 , the display panel 110 may include the display DU,the touch sensor TSU, and an anti-reflection layer RPL. The display DUmay include the substrate SUB, the thin film transistor layer TFTL, thelight-emitting element layer EML, and the encapsulation layer TFEL.

The substrate SUB may be a base substrate or a base member. Thesubstrate SUB may be a flexible substrate that can be bent, folded orrolled. For example, the substrate SUB may include a glass material or ametal material, but is not limited thereto. For another example, thesubstrate SUB may include a polymer resin, such as polyimide (PI).

The thin film transistor layer TFTL may be located on the substrate SUB.The thin film transistor layer TFTL may include a plurality of thin filmtransistors constituting a pixel circuit of pixels. The thin filmtransistor layer TFTL may further include gate lines, data lines, powerlines, gate control lines, fan-out lines that connect the display driver120 to the data lines, and lead lines that connect the display driver120 to the pad. Each of the thin film transistors may include asemiconductor region, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gateelectrode. For example, when the gate driver is formed on one side ofthe non-display area NDA of the display panel 110, the gate driver mayinclude thin film transistors.

The thin film transistor layer TFTL may be located in the display areaDA, the non-display area NDA, and the sub-region SBA. Thin filmtransistors, gate lines, data lines, and power lines of each of thepixels of the thin film transistor layer TFTL may be located in thedisplay area DA. Gate control lines and fan-out lines of the thin filmtransistor layer TFTL may be located in the non-display area NDA. Thelead lines of the thin film transistor layer TFTL may be located in thesub-region SBA.

The light-emitting element layer EML may be located on the thin filmtransistor layer TFTL. The light-emitting element layer EML may includea plurality of light-emitting elements in which a first electrode, alight-emitting layer, and a second electrode are sequentially stacked toemit light, and a pixel-defining layer defining pixels. The plurality oflight-emitting elements of the light-emitting element layer EML may belocated in the display area DA.

For example, the light-emitting layer may be an organic light-emittinglayer including an organic material. The light-emitting layer mayinclude a hole-transporting layer, an organic light-emitting layer, andan electron-transporting layer. When the first electrode receives avoltage (e.g., predetermined voltage) through the thin film transistorof the thin film transistor layer TFTL, and when the second electrodereceives the cathode voltage, holes and electrons may be transferred tothe organic light-emitting layer through the hole-transporting layer andthe electron-transporting layer, respectively, and may be combined witheach other to emit light in the organic light-emitting layer. Forexample, the first electrode may be an anode electrode, and the secondelectrode may be a cathode electrode, but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto.

For another example, the plurality of light-emitting elements mayinclude a quantum dot light-emitting diode including a quantum dotlight-emitting layer or an inorganic light-emitting diode including aninorganic semiconductor.

The encapsulation layer TFEL may cover the top surface and the sidesurface of the light-emitting element layer EML, and may protect thelight-emitting element layer EML. The encapsulation layer TFEL mayinclude at least one inorganic layer and at least one organic layer forencapsulating the light-emitting element layer EML.

The touch sensor TSU may be located on the encapsulation layer TFEL. Thetouch sensor TSU may include a plurality of touch electrodes for sensinga user's touch in a capacitive manner, and touch lines connecting theplurality of touch electrodes to the touch driver 140. For example, thetouch sensor TSU may sense a user's touch by a self-capacitance methodor a mutual capacitance method.

For another example, the touch sensor TSU may be located on a separatesubstrate located on the display DU. In this case, the substratesupporting the touch sensor TSU may be a base member that encapsulatesthe display DU.

The plurality of touch electrodes of the touch sensor TSU may be locatedin a touch sensor area overlapping the display area DA. The touch linesof the touch sensor TSU may be located in a touch peripheral area thatoverlaps the non-display area NDA.

The anti-reflection layer RPL may be located on the touch sensor TSU.The anti-reflection layer RPL may be attached onto the touch sensor TSUby an optically clear adhesive (OCA) film or an optically clear resin(OCR). For example, the anti-reflection layer RPL may include a phaseretardation film, such as a linear polarizer plate and a quarter-wave(λ/4) plate. The phase retardation film and the linear polarizer platemay be sequentially stacked on the touch sensor TSU.

The sub-region SBA of the display panel 110 may extend from one side ofthe main region MA. The sub-region SBA may include a flexible materialthat can be bent, folded or rolled. For example, when the sub-region SBAis bent, the sub-region SBA may overlap the main region MA in athickness direction (Z-axis direction). The sub-region SBA may includethe display driver 120 and the pad connected to the circuit board 130.

FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating a display of a display deviceaccording to one or more embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 20 , the display DU may include the display area DAand the non-display area NDA.

The display area DA, which is an area for displaying an image, may bedefined as the central area of the display panel 110. The display areaDA may include a plurality of pixels SP, a plurality of gate lines GL, aplurality of data lines DL, and a plurality of power lines VL. Each ofthe plurality of pixels SP may be defined as the smallest unit thatoutputs light.

The plurality of gate lines GL may supply gate signals received from agate driver 121 to the plurality of pixels SP. The plurality of gatelines GL may extend in the X-axis direction, and may be spaced apartfrom each other in the Y-axis direction that crosses the X-axisdirection.

The plurality of data lines DL may supply the data voltages receivedfrom the display driver 120 to the plurality of pixels SP. The pluralityof data lines DL may extend in the Y-axis direction, and may be spacedapart from each other in the X-axis direction.

The plurality of power lines VL may supply the power voltage receivedfrom the display driver 120 to the plurality of pixels SP. Here, thepower voltage may be at least one of a driving voltage, aninitialization voltage, or a reference voltage. The plurality of powerlines VL may extend in the Y-axis direction, and may be spaced apartfrom each other in the X-axis direction.

The non-display area NDA may surround the display area DA. Thenon-display area NDA may include the gate driver 121, fan-out lines FOL,and gate control lines GCL. The gate driver 121 may generate a pluralityof gate signals based on the gate control signal, and may sequentiallysupply the plurality of gate signals to the plurality of gate lines GLaccording to a set order.

The fan-out lines FOL may extend from the display driver 120 to thedisplay area DA. The fan-out lines FOL may supply the data voltagereceived from the display driver 120 to the plurality of data lines DL.

The gate control line GCL may extend from the display driver 120 to thegate driver 121. The gate control line GCL may supply the gate controlsignal received from the display driver 120 to the gate driver 121.

The sub-region SBA may include the display driver 120, a display padarea DPA, and first and second touch pad areas TPA1 and TPA2.

The display driver 120 may output signals and voltages for driving thedisplay panel 110 to the fan-out lines FOL. The display driver 120 maysupply a data voltage to the data line DL through the fan-out lines FOL.The data voltage may be supplied to the plurality of pixels SP todetermine the luminance of the plurality of pixels SP. The displaydriver 120 may supply the gate control signal to the gate driver 121through the gate control line GCL.

The display pad area DPA, the first touch pad area TPA1, and the secondtouch pad area TPA2 may be located at the edge of the sub-region SBA.The display pad area DPA, the first touch pad area TPA1, and the secondtouch pad area TPA2 may be electrically connected to the circuit board130 by using an anisotropic conductive film or a low-resistancehigh-reliability material, such as SAP.

The display pad area DPA may include a plurality of display pads DP. Theplurality of display pads DP may be connected to the main processor 150through the circuit board 130. The plurality of display pads DP may beconnected to the circuit board 130 to receive digital video data, andmay supply the digital video data to the display driver 120.

FIG. 21 is a plan view illustrating a touch sensor of a display deviceaccording to one or more embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 21 , the touch sensor TSU may include a touch sensorarea TSA for sensing a user's touch, and a touch peripheral area TPAlocated around the touch sensor area TSA. The touch sensor area TSA mayoverlap the display area DA of the display DU, and the touch peripheralarea TPA may overlap the non-display area NDA of the display DU.

The touch sensor area TSA may include a plurality of touch electrodesSEN and a plurality of dummy electrodes DME. The plurality of touchelectrodes SEN may form mutual capacitance or self-capacitance to sensea touch of an object or a person. The plurality of touch electrodes SENmay include a plurality of driving electrodes TE and a plurality ofsensing electrodes RE.

The plurality of driving electrodes TE may be arranged in the X-axisdirection and the Y-axis direction. The plurality of driving electrodesTE may be spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction and theY-axis direction. The driving electrodes TE adjacent each other in theY-axis direction may be electrically connected through a bridgeelectrode CE.

The plurality of driving electrodes TE may be connected to a first touchpad TP1 through a driving line TL. The driving line TL may include alower driving line TLa and an upper driving line TLb. For example, someof the driving electrodes TE located under the touch sensor area TSA maybe connected to the first touch pad TP1 through the lower driving lineTLa, and the some other driving electrodes TE located on the upper sideof the touch sensor area TSA may be connected to the first touch pad TP1through the upper driving line TLb. The lower driving line TLa mayextend to the first touch pad TP1 through the lower side of the touchperipheral area TPA. The upper driving line TLb may extend to the firsttouch pad TP1 through the upper side, the left side, and the lower sideof the touch peripheral area TPA. The first touch pad TP1 may beconnected to the touch driver 140 through the circuit board 130.

The bridge electrode CE may be bent at least once. For example, thebridge electrode CE may have an angle bracket shape (e.g., a “<” shapeor a “>” shape), but the planar shape of the bridge electrode CE is notlimited thereto. The driving electrodes TE adjacent to each other in theY-axis direction may be connected by a plurality of bridge electrodesCE, and although any one of the bridge electrodes CE is disconnected,the driving electrodes TE may be stably connected through the remainingbridge electrode CE. The driving electrodes TE adjacent to each othermay be connected by two bridge electrodes CE, but the number of bridgeelectrodes CE is not limited thereto.

The bridge electrode CE may be located on a different layer from theplurality of driving electrodes TE and the plurality of sensingelectrodes RE. The sensing electrodes RE adjacent to each other in theX-axis direction may be electrically connected through a connectionportion located on the same layer as the plurality of driving electrodesTE or the plurality of sensing electrodes RE, and the driving electrodesTE adjacent in the Y-axis direction may be electrically connectedthrough the bridge electrode CE located on a different layer from theplurality of driving electrodes TE or the plurality of sensingelectrodes RE. Accordingly, although the bridge electrode CE overlapsthe plurality of sensing electrodes RE in the Z-axis direction, theplurality of driving electrodes TE and the plurality of sensingelectrodes RE may be insulated from each other. Mutual capacitance maybe formed between the driving electrode TE and the sensing electrode RE.

The plurality of sensing electrodes RE may extend in the X-axisdirection and may be spaced apart from each other in the Y-axisdirection. The plurality of sensing electrodes RE may be arranged in theX-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the sensing electrodes REadjacent in the X-axis direction may be electrically connected through aconnection portion.

The plurality of sensing electrodes RE may be connected to a secondtouch pad TP2 through a sensing line RL. For example, some of thesensing electrodes RE located on the right side of the touch sensor areaTSA may be connected to the second touch pad TP2 through the sensingline RL. The sensing line RL may extend to the second touch pad TP2through the right side and the lower side of the touch peripheral areaTPA. The second touch pad TP2 may be connected to the touch driver 140through the circuit board 130.

Each of the plurality of dummy electrodes DME may be surrounded by thedriving electrode TE or the sensing electrode RE. Each of the dummyelectrodes DME may be insulated by being spaced apart from the drivingelectrode TE or the sensing electrode RE. Accordingly, the dummyelectrode DME may be electrically floating.

The display pad area DPA, the first touch pad area TPA1, and the secondtouch pad area TPA2 may be located at the edge of the sub-region SBA.The display pad area DPA, the first touch pad area TPA1, and the secondtouch pad area TPA2 may be electrically connected to the circuit board130 by using an anisotropic conductive film or a low-resistancehigh-reliability material, such as SAP.

The first touch pad area TPA1 may be located on one side of the displaypad area DPA, and may include a plurality of first touch pads TP1. Theplurality of first touch pads TP1 may be electrically connected to thetouch driver 140 located on the circuit board 130. The plurality offirst touch pads TP1 may supply a touch-driving signal to the pluralityof driving electrodes TE through a plurality of driving lines TL.

The second touch pad area TPA2 may be located on the other side of thedisplay pad area DPA, and may include a plurality of second touch padsTP2. The plurality of second touch pads TP2 may be electricallyconnected to the touch driver 140 located on the circuit board 130. Thetouch driver 140 may receive a touch sensing signal through a pluralityof sensing lines RL connected to the plurality of second touch pads TP2,and may sense a change in mutual capacitance between the drivingelectrode TE and the sensing electrode RE.

As another example, the touch driver 140 may supply a touch-drivingsignal to each of the plurality of driving electrodes TE and theplurality of sensing electrodes RE, and may receive a touch sensingsignal from each of the plurality of driving electrodes TE and theplurality of sensing electrodes RE. The touch driver 140 may sense anamount of change in electric charge of each of the plurality of drivingelectrodes TE and the plurality of sensing electrodes RE based on thetouch sensing signal.

FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of area A1 shown in FIG. 21 . Moreover, FIG.23 is an enlarged view illustrating a portion of the area A1 illustratedin FIG. 22 .

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23 , the plurality of driving electrodes TE,the plurality of sensing electrodes RE, and the plurality of dummyelectrodes DME may be located on the same layer and may be spaced apartfrom each other.

The plurality of driving electrodes TE may be arranged in the X-axisdirection and the Y-axis direction. The plurality of driving electrodesTE may be spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction and theY-axis direction. The driving electrodes TE adjacent in the Y-axisdirection may be electrically connected through a bridge electrode CE.

The plurality of sensing electrodes RE may extend in the X-axisdirection and may be spaced apart from each other in the Y-axisdirection. The plurality of sensing electrodes RE may be arranged in theX-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the sensing electrodes REadjacent in the X-axis direction may be electrically connected through aconnection portion RCE. For example, the connection portion RCE of thesensing electrodes RE may be located within the shortest distancebetween the driving electrodes TE adjacent to each other.

The plurality of bridge electrodes CE may be located on a differentlayer from the driving electrode TE and the sensing electrode RE. Thebridge electrode CE may include a first portion CEa and a second portionCEb. For example, the first portion CEa of the bridge electrode CE maybe connected to the driving electrode TE located on one side through afirst contact hole CNT1 and may extend in a third direction DR3. Thesecond portion CEb of the bridge electrode CE may be bent from the firstportion CEa in an area overlapping the sensing electrode RE to extend ina second direction DR2, and may be connected to the driving electrode TElocated on the other side through the first contact hole CNT1.Hereinafter, a first direction DR1 may be a direction between the X-axisdirection and the Y-axis direction, a second direction DR2 may be adirection between the X-axis direction and the opposite direction of theY-axis, a third direction DR3 may be an opposite direction of the firstdirection DR1, and a fourth direction DR4 may be an opposite directionof the second direction DR2. Accordingly, each of the plurality ofbridge electrodes CE may connect the adjacent driving electrodes TE inthe Y-axis direction.

For example, the plurality of driving electrodes TE, the plurality ofsensing electrodes RE, and the plurality of dummy electrodes DME may beformed in a planar mesh structure or a mesh structure. The plurality ofdriving electrodes TE, the plurality of sensing electrodes RE, and theplurality of dummy electrodes DME may surround each of first to thirdemission areas EA1, EA2, and EA3 of a pixel group PG in plan view.Accordingly, the plurality of driving electrodes TE, the plurality ofsensing electrodes RE, and the plurality of dummy electrodes DME may notoverlap first to third emission areas EA1, EA2, and EA3. The pluralityof bridge electrodes CE may also not overlap the first to third emissionareas EA1, EA2, and EA3. Accordingly, the display device 10 may reduceor prevent the likelihood of the luminance of light emitted from thefirst to third emission areas EA1, EA2, and EA3 being reduced by thetouch sensor TSU.

Each of the plurality of driving electrodes TE may include a firstportion TEa extending in the first direction DR1 and a second portionTEb extending in the second direction DR2. Each of the plurality ofsensing electrodes RE may include a first portion REa extending in thefirst direction DR1 and a second portion REb extending in the seconddirection DR2.

At least some touch electrodes SEN among the plurality of touchelectrodes SEN may include the code pattern CDP. At least some drivingelectrodes TE among the plurality of driving electrodes TE or at leastsome sensing electrodes RE among the plurality of sensing electrodes REmay include the code pattern CDP. The code pattern CDP may include aplurality of code patterns cut according to a corresponding criterionand having position information. The plurality of code patterns maycorrespond to values of the preset data codes. For example, theplurality of code patterns may be provided by cutting one of theplurality of stems extending from the crossing points of at least someof the touch electrodes SEN, but are not limited thereto. The pluralityof stems of at least some of the touch electrodes SEN may extend infirst to fourth directions DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 from the crossingpoint, and a stem extending in one direction of the first to fourthdirections DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 may be cut. The cutting direction ofthe stem may correspond to a value of a preset data code constitutingthe position information.

The plurality of pixels may include first to third sub-pixels, and eachof the first to third sub-pixels may include the first to third emissionareas EA1, EA2, and EA3. For example, the first emission area EA1 mayemit light of a first color (e.g., red light), the second emission areaEA2 may emit light of a second color (e.g., green light), and the thirdemission area EA3 may emit light of a third color (e.g., blue light),but is not limited thereto.

One pixel group PG may produce light of a white gray scale by includingone first light-emitting area EA1, two second light-emitting areas EA2,and one third light-emitting area EA3. Accordingly, the white gray scalemay be represented by a combination of light emitted from one firstlight-emitting area EA1, light emitted from two second light-emittingareas EA2, and light emitted from one third light-emitting area EA3.

FIG. 24 is a view illustrating an example of a code pattern in a displaydevice according to one or more embodiments. Moreover, FIG. 25 is adiagram illustrating data codes corresponding to the code pattern ofFIG. 24 .

Referring to FIGS. 24 and 25 , the plurality of touch electrodes SEN maybe formed in a mesh structure or a mesh structure in plan view. Edges ofthe minimum unit of the plurality of touch electrodes SEN may cross eachother in the first direction DR1 and the second direction DR2. At leastsome touch electrodes SEN among the plurality of touch electrodes SENmay include the code pattern CDP. At least some driving electrodes TEamong the plurality of driving electrodes THE, or at least some sensingelectrodes RE among the plurality of sensing electrodes RE, may includethe code pattern CDP.

The code pattern CDP may include a reference point RP, a first (e.g.,horizontal) reference line HRL, a second (e.g., vertical) reference lineVRL, and a plurality of code patterns CP.

The reference point RP may be an identification reference of the codepattern CDP. For example, the reference point RP may correspond to anarea in which crossing points of at least some of the touch electrodesSEN are cut. For example, the reference point RP may be located on theupper left end of the code pattern CDP, but is not limited thereto.

The first reference line HRL may extend in the X-axis direction from thereference point RP. The first reference line HRL may be defined byconnecting a plurality of crossing points ITS located in the X-axisdirection of the reference point RP. For example, when the firstreference line HRL is defined by connecting six crossing points ITS, theplurality of code patterns CP may be arranged according to six columnsincluding six crossing points ITS.

The second reference line VRL may extend in the Y-axis direction fromthe reference point RP. The second reference line VRL may be defined byconnecting the plurality of crossing points ITS located in the Y-axisdirection of the reference point RP to a cut portion CTP located betweenthe plurality of crossing points ITS. For example, the second referenceline VRL may be defined by connecting two crossing points ITS, one cutportion CTP, and three other crossing points ITS, and the plurality ofcode patterns CP may be arranged along six rows including five crossingpoints ITS and one cut portion CTP.

The plurality of code patterns CP may be located in an area defined bythe first reference line HRL and the second reference line VRL. Aninclination or rotation angle of the plurality of code patterns CP withrespect to the camera may be sensed by the first reference line HRL andthe second reference line VRL. For example, when the first referenceline HRL is defined by connecting six crossing points ITS and the secondreference line VRL is defined by connecting two crossing points ITS, onecut portion CTP, and three other crossing points ITS, the plurality ofcode patterns CP may be arranged in a 6-by-6 matrix.

The plurality of code patterns CP may be cut according to acorresponding criterion to have position information. The plurality ofcode patterns CP may correspond to a value of a preset data code DC. Forexample, the plurality of code patterns CP may be provided by cuttingone of the plurality of stems extending from the crossing point of atleast some of the touch electrodes SEN. The plurality of stems of atleast some of the touch electrodes SEN may respectively extend in firstto fourth directions DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 from the crossing point, anda stem extending in one direction of the first to fourth directions DR1,DR2, DR3, and DR4 may be cut. The cutting direction of the stem maycorrespond to a value of the preset data code DC constituting theposition information. For example, the code pattern CP located in them^(th) row (m being a natural number) and the n^(th) column (n being anatural number) may correspond to the data code DC located in the m^(th)row and the n^(th) column.

For example, the code pattern CP in which the stem that extends in thefirst direction DR1 is cut may correspond to the data code DC of [00].The code pattern CP in which the stem that extends in the seconddirection DR2 is cut may correspond to the data code DC of [01]. Thecode pattern CP in which the stem that extends in the third directionDR3 is cut may correspond to the data code DC of [10]. The code patternCP in which the stem that extends in the fourth direction DR4 is cut maycorrespond to the data code DC of [11].

An eleventh code pattern CP11 located in a first row Row1 and a firstcolumn Col1 may have a stem that is cut in the first direction DR1, andan eleventh data code DC11 may have a value of [00]. A sixty-first codepattern CP61 located in a sixth row Row6 and a first column Col1 mayhave a stem that is cut in the second direction DR2, and a sixty-firstdata code DC61 may have a value of [01]. A sixty-second code patternlocated in the sixth row Row6 and a second column Col2 may have a stemthat is cut in the third direction DR3, and a sixty-second data code mayhave a value of [10]. A sixteenth code pattern CP16 located in the firstrow Row1 and a sixth column Col6 may have a stem that is cut in thefourth direction DR4, and a sixteenth data code DC16 may have a value of[11]. A sixty-sixth code pattern CP66 located in the sixth row Row6 andthe sixth column Col6 may have a stem that is cut in the seconddirection DR2, and a sixty-sixth data code DC66 may have a value of[01].

The plurality of code patterns CP may further include a conductivepattern in which the plurality of stems extending from the crossingpoint are not cut. The conductive pattern might not have a value of thedata code DC (e.g., Null). The conductive pattern may be located at asuitable position so that the plurality of touch electrodes SEN maynormally perform a touch operation. Because the plurality of codepatterns CP include the conductive pattern, deterioration of theplurality of touch electrodes SEN may be reduced or prevented. Forexample, a twenty-third code pattern located in a second row Row2 and athird column Col3 may correspond to a conductive pattern, and atwenty-third data code may not have a value (Null).

The display device 10 may receive a touch input of a touch input device,such as a smart pen 2 by including the plurality of code patterns CPprovided on at least some touch electrodes SEN among the plurality oftouch electrodes SEN. The plurality of code patterns CP may be cutaccording to a corresponding criterion to have position information, andmay correspond one-to-one to the preset data codes DC. Accordingly, thedisplay device 10 may reduce cost, reduce power consumption, andsimplify the driving process by receiving the generated coordinate datawithout complex computation and correction using the data code DC. Inaddition, the display device 10 may not be limited in size and may beapplied to all electronic devices having a touch function by includingthe plurality of code patterns CP provided on at least some of the touchelectrodes SEN.

FIG. 26 is a view illustrating another example of a code pattern in adisplay device according to one or more embodiments, and FIG. 27 is adiagram illustrating data codes corresponding to the code pattern ofFIG. 26 .

Referring to FIGS. 26 and 27 , the plurality of touch electrodes SEN maybe formed in a mesh structure (e.g., in plan view). Edges of the minimumunit of the plurality of touch electrodes SEN may cross each other inthe first direction DR1 and the second direction DR2. At least sometouch electrodes SEN among the plurality of touch electrodes SEN mayinclude the code pattern CDP. At least some driving electrodes TE amongthe plurality of driving electrodes TE or at least some sensingelectrodes RE among the plurality of sensing electrodes RE may includethe code pattern CDP.

The code pattern CDP may include the reference point RP and theplurality of code patterns CP.

The reference point RP may be an identification reference of the codepattern CDP. For example, the reference point RP may correspond to anarea in which crossing points of at least some of the touch electrodesSEN are cut. The reference point RP may include first and secondreference points RP1 and RP2. For example, the first and secondreference points RP1 and RP2 may be spaced apart from each other on thetop of the plurality of code patterns CP, but are not limited thereto.

The plurality of code patterns CP may be located in a preset area basedon the first and second reference points RP1 and RP2. An inclination orrotation angle of the plurality of code patterns CP with respect to thecamera may be sensed by the first and second reference points RP1 andRP2. For example, when the first and second reference points RP1 and RP2are located to be spaced apart from each other in a corresponding row,the plurality of code patterns CP may be arranged in an m-by-n matrixstarting from the next row of the row in which the first and secondreference points RP1 and RP2 are located.

The plurality of code patterns CP may be cut according to acorresponding criterion to have position information. The plurality ofcode patterns CP may correspond to a value of a preset data code DC. Forexample, the plurality of code patterns CP may include some uncut edgesand some other cut edges among a plurality of edges forming a meshshape. Here, the central portion of the edge may be cut, but the cuttingposition is not limited thereto. The presence or absence of cutting ofthe plurality of edges may correspond to a value of the preset data codeDC constituting the position information. For example, the code patternCP located in the m^(th) row and the n^(th) column may correspond to thedata code DC located in the m^(th) row and the n^(th) column. Forexample, the code pattern CP including the uncut edge may correspond tothe data code DC of [0]. The code pattern CP including the cut edge maycorrespond to the data code DC of [1].

The eleventh code pattern CP11 located in the first row Row1 and thefirst column Col1 may include a cut edge, and the eleventh data codeDC11 may have a value of [1]. A forty-fifth code pattern CP45 located ina fourth row Row4 and a fifth column Col5 may include an uncut edge, anda forty-fifth data code DC45 may have a value of [0]. Similarly, afifteenth code pattern CP15 and a forty-first cod pattern CP41 mayrespectively correspond to a fifteenth data code DC15 of 0 and aforty-first data code DC41 of 0.

The data codes DC arranged in some rows may constitute a first dataData1 of the coordinate data, and the data codes DC arranged in someother rows may constitute a second data Data2 of the coordinate data.For example, the first data Data1 may correspond to the X-axiscoordinates of the touch position, and the second data Data2 maycorrespond to the Y-axis coordinates of the touch position, but examplesof the first and second data Data1 and Data2 are not limited thereto.

For example, as shown in FIG. 27 the data codes DC arranged in the firstrow Row1 and the second row Row2 may constitute the first data Data1 ofthe coordinate data, and the data code DC arranged in the third row Row3and the fourth row Row4 may constitute the second data Data2 of thecoordinate data. Accordingly, the plurality of code patterns CP may beconverted into the corresponding data codes DC, and coordinate data maybe rapidly generated based on the data codes DC without complexcomputation and correction.

The display device 10 may receive a touch input of a touch input device,such as a smart pen, by including the plurality of code patterns CPprovided on at least some touch electrodes SEN among the plurality oftouch electrodes SEN. The plurality of code patterns CP may be cutaccording to a corresponding criterion to have position information, andmay correspond one-to-one to the preset data codes DC. Accordingly, thedisplay device 10 may reduce cost, reduce power consumption, andsimplify the driving process by receiving the generated coordinate datawithout complex computation and correction using the data code DC. Inaddition, the display device 10 may not be limited in size and may beapplied to all electronic devices having a touch function by includingthe plurality of code patterns CP provided on at least some of the touchelectrodes SEN.

FIG. 28 is a view illustrating yet another example of a code pattern ina display device according to one or more embodiments. Moreover, FIG. 29is a diagram illustrating data codes corresponding to the code patternof FIG. 28 .

Referring to FIGS. 28 and 29 , the plurality of touch electrodes SEN maybe formed in a mesh structure (e.g., in plan view). Edges of the minimumunit of the plurality of touch electrodes SEN may cross each other inthe first direction DR1 and the second direction DR2. At least sometouch electrodes SEN among the plurality of touch electrodes SEN mayinclude the code pattern CDP. At least some driving electrodes TE amongthe plurality of driving electrodes TE, or at least some sensingelectrodes RE among the plurality of sensing electrodes RE, may includethe code pattern CDP.

The code pattern CDP may include the reference point RP and theplurality of code patterns CP.

The reference point RP may be an identification reference of the codepattern CDP. For example, the reference point RP may correspond to anarea in which all edges forming the mesh shape are cut. The referencepoint RP may include first and second reference points RP1 and RP2. Eachof the first and second reference points RP1 and RP2 may be located in arow and a column in which the plurality of code patterns CP arearranged. For example, when the code pattern CDP is arranged in a 4-by-3matrix, the first reference point RP1 may be located in the first rowRow1 and the first column Col1, the second reference point RP2 may belocated in the third row Row3 and the first column Col1, and theplurality of code patterns CP may be arranged in the remaining rows andcolumns. The arrangement positions of the reference point RP and theplurality of code patterns CP are not limited thereto.

The plurality of code patterns CP may be located in a preset area basedon the first and second reference points RP1 and RP2. An inclination orrotation angle of the plurality of code patterns CP with respect to thecamera may be sensed by the first and second reference points RP1 andRP2.

The plurality of code patterns CP may be cut according to acorresponding criterion to have position information. The plurality ofcode patterns CP may correspond to a value of a preset data code DC. Forexample, the plurality of code patterns CP may be provided by cutting acorresponding portion of an edge forming a mesh shape. The positions atwhich the plurality of edges are cut may correspond to a value of apreset data code DC constituting the position information. For example,the code pattern CP located in the m^(th) row and the n^(th) column maycorrespond to the data code DC located in the m^(th) row and the n^(th)column.

For example, the uncut code pattern CP may correspond to the data codeDC of [00]. The code pattern CP in which the lower portion of the edgeextending in the first direction DR1 is cut may correspond to the datacode DC of [01]. The code pattern CP in which the upper portion of theedge extending in the first direction DR1 is cut may correspond to thedata code DC of [10]. The code pattern CP in which the central portionof the edge extending in the first direction DR1 is cut may correspondto the data code DC of [11].

A twenty-second code pattern located in the second row Row2 and thesecond column Col2 may not be cut, and a twenty-second data code mayhave a value of [00]. A twelfth code pattern CP12 located in the firstrow Row1 and the second column Col2, along with a twenty-first codepattern CP21, a thirty-third code pattern CP33, a forty-first codepattern CP41, may include an edge of which the lower portion is cut, anda twelfth data code, a twenty-first data code, a third-third data code,and a forty-first data code, may each have a value of [01]. A thirteenthcode pattern CP13 located in the first row Row1 and the third columnCol3, along with a forty-third code pattern CP43, may include an edge ofwhich the upper portion is cut, and a thirteenth data code and aforty-third data code may each have a value of [10]. A twenty-third codepattern CP23 located in the second row Row2 and the third column Col3,along with a thirty-second code pattern CP32, may include an edge ofwhich the central portion is cut, and a twenty-third data code and athirty-second code pattern may each have a value of [11].

The data codes DC arranged in some rows may constitute a first dataData1 of the coordinate data, and the data codes DC arranged in someother rows may constitute a second data Data2 of the coordinate data.For example, the first data Data1 may correspond to the X-axiscoordinates of the touch position, and the second data Data2 maycorrespond to the Y-axis coordinates of the touch position, but examplesof the first and second data Data1 and Data2 are not limited thereto.

For example, as shown in FIG. 29 , the data codes DC arranged in thefirst row Row1 and the second row Row2 may constitute the first dataData1 of the coordinate data, and the data codes DC arranged in thethird row Row3 and the fourth row Row4 may constitute the second dataData2 of the coordinate data. Accordingly, the plurality of codepatterns CP may be converted into the corresponding data codes DC, andcoordinate data may be rapidly generated based on the data codes DCwithout complex computation and correction.

The display device 10 may receive a touch input of a touch input device,such as a smart pen by including the plurality of code patterns CPprovided on at least some touch electrodes SEN among the plurality oftouch electrodes SEN. The plurality of code patterns CP may be cutaccording to a corresponding criterion to have position information, andmay correspond one-to-one to the preset data codes DC. Accordingly, thedisplay device 10 may reduce cost, reduce power consumption, andsimplify the driving process by receiving the generated coordinate datawithout complex computation and correction using the data code DC. Inaddition, the display device 10 may not be limited in size and may beapplied to all electronic devices having a touch function by includingthe plurality of code patterns CP provided on at least some of the touchelectrodes SEN.

In concluding the detailed description, those skilled in the art willappreciate that many variations and modifications can be made to theembodiments without substantially departing from the aspects of thepresent disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments of the presentdisclosure are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A smart pen comprising: a body; a pen tip portionat an end of the body, and comprising: a pen tip extending in a firstdirection; a pen tip support configured to support the pen tip; and areflector on one surface of the pen tip support, and having a curvature;and a light emitter supported by the body, configured to emit light, andinclined at an angle with respect to the first direction.
 2. The smartpen of claim 1, wherein a radius of curvature forming the curvature isabout 70 mm to about 100 mm.
 3. The smart pen of claim 1, wherein theangle is within a range of about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees.
 4. Thesmart pen of claim 1, wherein the pen tip support defines a receivinghole in which the pen tip is accommodated.
 5. The smart pen of claim 4,wherein the pen tip support comprises: a first pen tip supportsurrounding a portion of a side surface of the pen tip; and a second pentip support surrounding a remaining portion of the side surface of thepen tip.
 6. The smart pen of claim 5, wherein the receiving hole isdefined as a space between the first pen tip support and the second pentip support.
 7. The smart pen of claim 5, wherein the second pen tipsupport comprises: a first surface in contact with the pen tip; and asecond surface opposite to the first surface, and in contact with thereflector.
 8. The smart pen of claim 7, wherein the second surface ofthe second pen tip support has the curvature.
 9. The smart pen of claim1, wherein the body comprises: a first support; and a second supportconfigured to support the light emitter, and fixed to the first support.10. The smart pen of claim 9, wherein the second support comprises: alight emitter support portion having a first support surface supportinga surface of the light emitter, and a second support surface supportinganother surface of the light emitter; a first fixing portion extendingfrom a first end of the light emitter support portion in the firstdirection, and overlapping the first support in a second direction thatis orthogonal to the first direction; and a second fixing portionextending in the first direction from a second end of the light emittersupport portion, and overlapping the second support in the seconddirection.
 11. The smart pen of claim 10, further comprising a lightemitting circuit board between the light emitter and the second supportsurface, and electrically connected to the light emitter.
 12. The smartpen of claim 9, further comprising a light receiver inside the firstsupport, and configured to receive light from the body.
 13. The smartpen of claim 12, further comprising a light-transmitting layer betweenthe pen tip support and the first support, and configured to transmitinfrared light.
 14. The smart pen of claim 13, wherein a distancebetween the light receiver and the light-transmitting layer is greaterthan a distance between the light emitter and the light-transmittinglayer.
 15. The smart pen of claim 1, wherein the light emitter isconfigured to emit infrared light.
 16. The smart pen of claim 15,wherein the reflector contains an infrared reflective material.
 17. Thesmart pen of claim 16, wherein the reflector is formed in a shape havingthe curvature.
 18. A smart pen comprising: a body comprising a firstsupport, and a second support connected to the first support; a lightemitter supported by the second support, and configured to emit light;and a pen tip portion comprising a pen tip extending in a firstdirection, and a pen tip support configured to support the pen tip,wherein the second support comprises: a light emitter support portionhaving a first support surface supporting a first surface of the lightemitter, and a second support surface supporting a second surface of thelight emitter; a first fixing portion extending from a first end of thelight emitter support portion in the first direction, and overlappingthe first support in a second direction that is orthogonal to the firstdirection; and a second fixing portion extending in the first directionfrom a second end of the light emitter support portion, and overlappingthe second support in the second direction.
 19. The smart pen of claim18, wherein the second support surface is inclined at an angle withrespect to the first direction.
 20. The smart pen of claim 19, whereinthe angle is within a range of about 15 degrees to about 20 degrees.